Jonny Saunders (born 31 March 1975) is a British former radio sports reporter, presenter and commentator. He worked for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and featured on Radios 1, 2, 4, 5 live and

6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

. He was the drivetime and later morning sports presenter on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

, featuring on ''

The Chris Evans Breakfast Show ''The Chris Evans Breakfast Show'' (currently referred to on-air due to sponsorship reasons as ''The Chris Evans Breakfast Show with Virgin Money'') is the name given to two versions of a radio programme hosted by broadcaster Chris Evans in the ...

'' and '' Chris Evans Drivetime'' until leaving on 8 July 2011, to become a teacher.

Early life and education

Saunders was educated at

Bradfield College Bradfield College is a coeducational public school (independent boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18, in the village of Bradfield, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It is noted for its open-air Greek theatre and its trien ...

, a boarding

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in the small village of Bradfield in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, followed by

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

from 1994 to 1997, and was at Collingwood College, where he kept goal for the college football team. He appeared as part of the Durham Revue alongside James Cary and comic

Tim FitzHigham Tim FitzHigham ( ) FRSA FRGS is an English comedian, author, artist and world record holder. The feats he has performed include paddling a paper boat down 257.5 km of the River Thames, rowing a bathtub across the English Channel, and infl ...

Radio career

Saunders' radio career started on the University Radio Station

Purple Radio Purple Radio is Durham University's Official Student Radio Station. Purple broadcasts online 24 hours a day during term time, from October until June each year. History Purple FM (1996 - 2005) Purple Radio was previously known as Purple FM ...

then known as "Purple FM 105.8" where alongside other members of the Durham Revue he presented the Saturday morning ''Brenda Smedley Show'' from 10am to noon. He began his professional career as a sports broadcaster at London's

Capital Radio Capital London is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment as part of its national Capital (radio network), Capital Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Bri ...

, where he worked from 1998 to 1999. In September 1999 he moved to the

, where he worked until mid 2011. Saunders was mysteriously absent from ''

'' from 14 to 16 June 2011. It was revealed on Friday 17 June that he had been away revising for and taking an

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

exam in English Literature as he would be leaving the show on 8 July 2011 to become a teacher. Saunders has also presented coverage of

Reading F.C. Reading Football Club ( ) is a professional football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. They compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. They play their home matches at the Select Car Leasing Sta ...

BBC Radio Berkshire BBC Radio Berkshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Berkshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 48,00 listeners as of May 2025. It has ...

on Saturdays from 1pm.

Personal life

Saunders lives at

in Berkshire as a

housemaster {{Unreferenced, date=October 2024 In education, a housemaster is a schoolmaster in charge of a boarding house, normally at a boarding school and especially at a public school. The housemaster is responsible for the supervision and care of board ...

for Stone House. In 2004 he was travelling on the train involved in the

Ufton Nervet rail crash The Ufton Nervet rail crash occurred on 6 November 2004 when a passenger train collided with a stationary car on a Level crossings in the United Kingdom, level crossing on the Reading–Taunton line near Ufton Nervet, Berkshire, England. The co ...

.Six die as train ploughs into car
BBC News, 7 November 2004

References

External links

Jonny's profile
* 1975 births Living people Alumni of Collingwood College, Durham British radio personalities Schoolteachers from Berkshire People educated at Bradfield College {{UK-radio-bio-stub